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Of the categories of gifts to give, housewarming gifts are right up there in difficulty for me with what to get my dad for any given holiday. And for a similar reason, too: I just don’t know what the recipient wants or needs! When someone is moving into a new home, I want to strike the right balance between something practical that they’ll use (who wants clutter in a new place?) and something thoughtful. There are plenty of candles, bottles of wine, and kitchen gadgets to gift — and don’t get me wrong, I’d love to receive all of those — but if you’re looking for an alternative that’s inexpensive, homemade, and extremely cute, I have just the thing. It’s a shot glass match holder.
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Knowing my love of candles and my childhood obsession with shot glasses (I just liked small things), for Christmas this year, my sister made me a match holder out of a vintage shot glass. She bought match striker paper and cut it to size (though you can also buy them in ready-to-go circular stickers), adhered it to the bottom of a lovely carved glass vessel she thrifted, and filled it with colorful matches she purchased from Amazon. Though she says the entire craft took about 5 minutes, the finished product is absolutely adorable. I also have a lighter, but sometimes striking a match to ignite a candle just makes it feel more like a romanticized ritual.
If you’re giving this as a housewarming gift, you could pair it with a candle or candlestick holder if you’d like, but I think it stands perfectly on its own. Or, if your friend is blessed with a wood-burning fireplace, you could use a larger glass and fill it with fireplace matches and gift it along with a cozy throw blanket or s’mores ingredients for a hygge-approved bundle.
I could also imagine making this for a friend’s birthday and giving it along with a set of birthday candles — and maybe even a homemade cake! If you have a pal who needs a pick-me-up during these long winter months, gifting them this colorful little craft along with a thinking-of-you card is a lovely way to let them know you care. There are so many ways to iterate on this simple DIY and, most importantly, chances are no one else is getting them the exact same thing.
